> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.membercounter.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.membercounter.app/counters-reference/replace.md). # Replace Text replacement, useful in conjunction with other nested counters for comprehensive text modification. The Replace counter takes a piece of text and swaps parts of it for something else. It is built for cleaning up or rewording what another counter returns, so all of its fields take [nested counters](/using-the-dashboard/nested-counters.md). **Availability:** every bot type. It makes no network requests, so it needs no API key and no environment variable when you [self-host](/self-hosting/configuration.md).
Replace options

The Replace counter panel: Input text and one replacement card

## Options | Option | What it does | Notes | | ---------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Input text** | The text the replacements are applied to. | One value only. Takes a nested counter. | | **Search for** | The piece of text to look for. | Plain text only, no regular expressions. Takes a nested counter. | | **Replace with** | What each match becomes. | Takes a nested counter. | **Search for** and **Replace with** live together on a replacement card. Use **Add replacement** to add another card and **Remove replacement** to delete one. There is no limit on the number of cards. {% hint style="warning" %} **`$` has a special meaning in Replace with.** `$$` produces a single `$`, `$&` inserts the text that was matched, and `` $` `` and `$'` insert the text before or after the match. To print a literal `$$`, type `$$$$`. {% endhint %} ## What it returns The **Input text** with every replacement card applied, as text. With no **Input text** the result is empty text. * **The cards run in order**, each on the result of the one before it, so card 2 can match text card 1 has just produced. * **Matching is literal and case-sensitive**, and every occurrence is replaced, not just the first. Searching for `on` in `Online` matches nothing, because the text starts with a capital `O`. * **Regular expressions are not supported.** {% hint style="danger" %} **You cannot delete text with this counter.** A card whose **Replace with** is empty is skipped instead of removing the search term, and so is a card whose **Search for** is empty. A single space is trimmed and skipped too, so the closest you can get is replacing the term with another visible character. A nested counter that returns the number `0` also counts as empty and its card is skipped. A `0` you type in yourself is fine, because it is stored as text. {% endhint %} ## Formatting A Replace result is text, and the bot only formats numbers, so **Use compact notation**, **Override default locale** and **Override default digits** have no effect on it, nor on any number produced inside it. When the cleaned-up value is a number and you want it formatted, wrap the Replace counter in a [Number](/counters-reference/number.md) counter and put the format settings there, because the bot reads the formatting from the outermost counter only. See [Formatting counters](/using-the-dashboard/customizing-counters.md). ## Refresh and caching Replace caches nothing. The bot works it out again on every channel update, every 10 minutes on the public bot and every 5 minutes on the other bot types. Anything nested inside it keeps its own refresh behaviour, so an [HTTP](/counters-reference/http.md) counter in **Input text** still refetches on its own **Lifetime (in seconds)**. See [How counters update](/using-the-dashboard/how-counters-update.md). ## Examples {% tabs %} {% tab title="Cleaning a value before Number" %} An API returns a figure with a decimal comma, such as `1234,56`. [Number](/counters-reference/number.md) cannot read that, so fix the separator first. 1. Add an [HTTP](/counters-reference/http.md) counter pointed at the endpoint and set its **Data path** so it returns just the figure. 2. Add a **Replace** counter and nest the HTTP counter in **Input text**. 3. Press **Add replacement** once and fill the card: **Search for** `,` and **Replace with** `.`, which turns `1234,56` into `1234.56`. 4. Wrap the whole Replace counter in a [Number](/counters-reference/number.md) counter so the value becomes a real number and **Format settings** apply to it. {% hint style="warning" %} This only works when the value has no thousands separator. A card with an empty **Replace with** is skipped, so a separator cannot be removed, and swapping it for anything else still leaves a character [Number](/counters-reference/number.md) cannot read. A value like `1.234,56` cannot be cleaned up with this counter. {% endhint %}
Cleaning an API value with Replace before Number

The stack in the dashboard: an HTTP counter in Input text, one replacement card, and the whole Replace counter inside a Number counter

{% endtab %} {% tab title="Rewording another counter" %} [Clock](/counters-reference/clock.md), [Date](/counters-reference/date.md) and [Reddit](/counters-reference/reddit.md) all return text you may not want word for word. * **Input text**: a nested **Clock** counter. * **Search for**: `AM`, **Replace with**: `in the morning`. The match is case-sensitive, so `AM` and `am` are two different searches and need two cards. {% endtab %} {% tab title="Swapping a value for a label" %} Turn a bare number into something friendlier. * **Input text**: a nested [Members](/counters-reference/members.md) counter with **Filter by status** set to **Online + Idle + DND**. * **Search for**: `1`, **Replace with**: `one`. Every occurrence is replaced, so `21` becomes `2one`. {% endtab %} {% endtabs %} ## Errors Replace has no errors of its own. What can still go wrong: | What you see | What to do | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | The channel shows `ERROR!` | A counter nested in **Input text**, **Search for** or **Replace with** failed, so the whole template failed. Open the channel in the dashboard and read the error to find the counter at fault. | | **The result for the channel name is less than 2 characters long.** | A voice or category channel name needs at least 2 characters, and an empty **Input text** is the usual reason. Fill **Input text**, or add text around the counter in the template. | | Nothing changes in the channel | A card is skipped because **Search for** or **Replace with** is empty, or the search term does not match because of capitalisation. Fill both fields on every card and check the capitalisation. | If it still fails, [Troubleshooting](/using-the-dashboard/troubleshooting.md) covers the common causes, and you can ask on the [support server](https://membercounter.app/support).
Technical details * Evaluator: `packages/services/src/DataSource/DataSourceEvaluator/evaluators/replace.ts`. It starts from `String(options.text ?? "")` and loops over `options.replacements`, calling `newText.replaceAll(search, replacement)` on the running value. * Each pass through the loop starts with `if (!search || !replacement) continue`, a falsy check on the raw value: an empty string and the number `0` both skip the card, and the counter itself never throws. * `String.prototype.replaceAll` with a string pattern is what gives literal, case-sensitive matching of every occurrence, and it is also what expands the `$` patterns in the replacement. * There is no cap on the number of replacement cards beyond the 50,000 tree-exploration iterations a top-level counter and everything nested in it share. * A string result is returned untouched by the formatter, which formats only numbers. That is the mechanism behind the formatting caveat above. * Other global limits: 60 s per top-level counter in the template, shared with everything nested inside it (`EVALUATION_TIMEOUT`), and a final result that is trimmed and then cut to 1023 characters for a topic or 99 for a channel name, with the 2-character minimum (`EVALUATION_RESULT_FOR_CHANNEL_NAME_IS_LESS_THAN_2_CHARACTERS`) checked before the cut. * When a nested counter makes the template fail, the update job writes `jobs.updateChannels.computeError` into the name or topic: `ERROR!` in en-US, translated in the other locales. * No network access, no cache entry and no environment variable when self-hosting.